ParaNorman (2012)

ParaNorman Synopsis

The new 3D stop-motion comedy thriller from animation company LAIKA, reteaming the company with Focus Features after the groundbreaking Academy Award-nominated Coraline. ParaNorman is, following Coraline, the company’s second stop-motion animated feature to be made in 3D. In ParaNorman, a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.

The Boxtrolls is in theaters now and it's awesome. That much needs to be said up front. And it's with that in mind that we celebrate the news that LAIKA and Focus Features have firmed up an agreement to make three more films together. Pause for a moment and applaud, or slap your hands heartily against your boxy chest...

The trailer is a dialogue-free clip set to the song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” a particularly fitting tune, considering the artists at Laika are responsible for creating each entire universe that their characters inhabit. They deftly take us through the entire process, from the skeletal wirework to the molding to the painting and stitching the costumes.

The film must contain a character that is identifiably gay, bisexual and/or transgender. The character must not be solely defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity. And the character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect.

Laika's next film The Boxtrolls probably doesn't have anything that much to do with gay characters either, but they've made a fascinating shout-out to gay families in the first trailer, which debuted today on Apple. Phrases like "families come in all shapes and sizes" are usually just bland shout-outs to single moms, divorced families, or kids being raised by grandparents or aunts and uncles (see the ending speech of Mrs. Doubtfire)

We've all followed the Oscars long enough to be realistic about what can and cannot happen. No matter how much you love Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables, you know he'll lose to Daniel Day-Lewis. No matter how much you might love Scarlett Johansson's Oscar-nominated song from Chasing Ice, everyone knows she'll be steamrolled by Adele's "Skyfall."

If you're a movie poster collector, there's one more reason to look forward to Oscar night. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's art division, Mondo, has three new posters set to be unveiled during the Academy Awards broadcast, marking their 2nd annual poster series tied to the nominated films in select categories. Check out three of the posters set to go on sale this Sunday ahead.

Many consider 1982 to be one of the greatest years in movie history. With titles like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Blade Runner, The Thing, Poltergeist, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and many other influential, revolutionary, unforgettable movies, it’s a year that will always be remembered as a landmark in pop culture history. And now 30 years later we have a year that could very well end up being remembered the same way.

2012 was a really, really hard year to sum up in list form, and a top 20 would really be more appropriate to reflect the astonishing variety of blockbusters, out-of-nowhere successes and totally tiny arthouse stuff that grabbed me this year. A lot of these movies snuck up on me, only revealing their brilliance long after I'd written a review or thought I'd forgotten about it. Plenty of those not on this list did the opposite, making an amazing first impression and fading so quickly

The entire year, in general, has been very, very good for animation, as this roundtable discussion with award-worthy animation directors proves. In preparation for the Oscar season, the L.A. Times gathered the creative minds behind the year’s top animation movies for a lengthy conversation about their processes.

The stop-motion animation flick, ParaNorman, is a classic tale of a boy who can see and speak to dead people. If you missed it in theaters—and as the box office scores show, you probably did—you’ll be able to catch ParaNorman on Blu-ray and DVD very soon. The set hits the market on November 27 and if you want a test run with a few of the bonus features, we have a couple of segments for you.

I love that time-lapse shot of the guy creating the scene by moving the characters ever-so-slightly. It's something that you know happens behind the scenes of a stop-motion film but is incredible to watch happen; you see that the characters are all puppets being manipulated by master animators, but you can't help believing that they're real too

There really aren’t enough scary children’s movies in the world. Which is why it is amazing that 2012 produced both the adventurous tale of terror,ParaNorman, and the upcoming animated flick, Frankenweenie. You'll be able to catch the latter in theaters beginning this weekend, and luckily, if you missed the former, ParaNorman will be hitting 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on November 27.

With The Expendables 2, Sparkle and ParaNorman all new and in wide release, holdovers like The Bourne Legacy and The Campaign are finding some competition, and it's pretty easy to tell what will take Bourne's #1 spot. The Expendables 2

This week on Operation Kino, we struggle onward after Matt Patches's tragic death in the Quarter Quell to review ParaNorman (it's also possible Patches is on vacation! Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion next week!) The three of us remaining also get into a lightning round inspired by The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Stop-motion films are special in the fact that they require so much time and effort to make, but making a feature entirely by hand has its limitations. While many directors and puppeteers have managed to invent and innovate rigs to accomplish more complicated cinematography, there’s only so far that practical effects will get you. To truly advance the medium there has to be a marriage created between stop motion and computer generated imagery.

But before you write off this summer movie season entirely, wait! There are still good movies left to come to theaters, even if it just seems like there's nothing but horror movies and that Joseph Gordon-Levitt bike messenger movie. Below we've got five movies that we've seen and loved and think you will too

Now Laika is back with their second feature, ParaNorman, which is also earning rave reviews. But is the 3D as much of a slam dunk this time? Is it still the only way to truly experience the movie? To help you answer that question, here's our latest installment of To 3D or not to 3D, in which we run down the key components of any 3D movie experience

Laika is proving itself to be a very special movie studio. While they have only produced two films so far - Coraline and ParaNorman - both movies are so brilliantly designed and have such wonderfully told stories that it’s hard not to start expecting greatness from the Oregon-based stop motion company. And that’s where Travis Knight comes in.

We’re only a few hours from packing up the old family wagon and heading out for the obligatory trip to Niagara Falls to watch water pouring over the side of a cliff. Should be amazing. But before hitting the road we’ve got some flicks to cover. It’s action superstars, kids born in gardens, kids fighting the undead and teenage singing sensations.

The more I see of Focus Features ParaNorman, the more excited I am to actually see the movie. And I've heard nothing but good things about it from people who have seen the 3D stop-motions animated film, which arrives in theaters next weekend. It looks fun. There are zombies. And based on the behind-the-scenes videos we've seen, a lot of patience and effort went into making it.

Blending comedy and horror to create a spooky family-friendly adventure ParaNorman enlists a voice cast that includes Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman, and Casey Affleck to tell the story of a boy with peculiar powers who must use them to save his town from an evil witch's curse. After being warned by a ghost, Norman and his reluctant posse of friends and family must band together to defeat zombies and bring an end to an ancient plan for vengeance.

Day 4 of the Olympics was a good one for Team USA, with numerous swimming victories as well as the girls gymnastics team pulling off a gold medal for their efforts. While their achievements on the mat were impressive, the zombie featured in ParaNorman's Olympics-themed TV spot may give them a run for their money in terms of form and limb control.

For those of us who grew up in a time where practical effects out-numbered CGI in movies, there's something romantic about handmade film elements that feel tangible onscreen. So it's little wonder that so many are already swooning over Laika Entertainment's biggest endeavor to date, ParaNorman.

Focus Features has the 3D stop-motion comedy thriller ParaNorman set to arrive in theaters later this summer (August 17). We'll be live-blogging the panel here at Comic Con today, which is set to feature stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick,Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Travis Knight, Chris Butler, and Sam Fell as they discuss the making of the movie. New footage from the movie will be shown and EW's Dave Karger will be on hand to moderate the panel.

The Road's Kodi Smit-McPhee lends his voice to the eponymous hero of this creepy kid flick, a boy named Norman who has the incredible ability to see ghosts. Of course, that special skill can be a drag when no one believes you. But when Norman's town is besieged by zombies thanks to an ancient curse, his unique perspective is exactly what he needs to save the day.

If you read my report from the set of ParaNorman that was posted yesterday, you know that Laika Studios is doing things unlike anyone else in the film industry. Their use of 3D printing alone – used to make replacement faces for their puppets so that they can show a variety of emotions – is groundbreaking...

What I got to see during the trip was absolutely incredible, with hundreds of people working in sync to complete work on the film. And the two men in charge of all of it are Chris Butler and Sam Fell. During our lunch break the group of journalists on set, including myself, had the chance to sit down and talk with the directors about managing the epic production

Back during one early morning in late January, four journalists, including myself, boarded a plane to travel to Hillsboro, Oregon where we were given the chance to see not only the process behind the long-enduring craft of stop-motion, but also the fascinating, brilliant, futuristic technology that the studio is using and developing in order to make their films

Here in the U.S. Laika Entertainment has been promoting their latest animated effort, ParaNorman by playing up the feature's allusions to classic American horror iconography with elements like Jason Voorhees hockey mask and the Halloween theme, while stressing that it is--above all else--a family friendly adventure. But across the pond the animation production company behind Corpse Bride and Coraline is offering something slightly more risqué.

he film tells the story of Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee), an ordinary kid with an extraordinary ability: he can see dead people. While he is resistant to his abilities at first, when he learns that an ancient curse threatens to destroy his hometown he knows that he must do everything within his power to stop it. Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, ParaNorman also features the voice talents of Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Casey Affleck, John Goodman, Christopher Mintz-Plasse...

The teaser trailer for ParaNorman - a new stop-motion animated film from the company that brought us Coraline - was easily one of my favorite trailers of the year. Featuring almost no sound from the film itself, the preview gave us some great visuals, a sense of tone, and made perfect use of "Season of the Witch" by Donovan. The only thing it really lacked was information about the characters and the story. But I suppose that's why they make theatrical trailers, right?

This will be their feature film debut, and they’ve landed some big names for vocal casting. In addition to Smit-McPhee, ParaNorman boasts the voices of John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Jeff Garlin, Leslie Mann and Broadway legend Elaine Stritch. It won’t be in theaters until August 2012, so this truly is a teaser. But it gives us an idea of what’s in store, and so far, I’m intrigued.

From the moment I walked out of Henry Selick's Coraline in early 2009 I began anticipating the next movie from Laika Entertainment. Selick's film was not only thrilling and creepy, but was absolutely beautiful (and one of the best pre-Avatar examples of amazing 3D). Hence my anticipation for ParaNorman.